Another former darling of Britain’s technology sector has fallen into foreign
hands after Cirrus Logic, which makes audio chips for Apple’s iPhones and
iPad Minis, acquired Wolfson Microelectronics for £278 million.

The Scottish chip maker, spun out of Edinburgh University 30 years ago, was
once worth almost £650 million, but, after losing a contract with Apple in
2008, it has struggled to compete with larger rivals such as Qualcomm in the
market for audio equipment.

Cirrus Logic, based in Austin, Texas, has agreed to pay 235p in cash per
share for Wolfson, a 75 per cent premium to its closing price of 134p